The present invention relates to tools for metal working and more particularly to a tool for precisely positioning holes to be drilled in a metallic or nonmetallic work piece in a particular desired or matching pattern.
It is often desired to drill a series of holes in a work piece such as sheet metal in a pattern wherein the holes bear a precise positional relationship to others in a desired pattern or where the hole pattern matches precisely a hole pattern in another piece when the hole pattern measurements may not be known with accuracy or easily ascertained.
The need to produce such a matching hole pattern occurs in the aviation industry or other industries where there is a requirement to match in a repair piece a hole pattern existing in an angle piece, an extrusion or a fuselage skin for purposes of repair or new installation. Often one side of the repair site is almost or wholly inaccessible so that the hole pattern cannot be matched by careful measurement or xe2x80x9cthru-holexe2x80x9d marking to recreate the pattern in the xe2x80x9cpatchxe2x80x9d piece.
According to the present invention a tracer marker device of unique design is placed in each hole of the pattern to be matched. Each tracer marker contains a center punch module and has a small laterally extending xe2x80x9cskirtxe2x80x9d or flange with an adhesive on its outer side. A repair or xe2x80x9cpatchxe2x80x9d piece to be drilled is next placed over the area to be repaired and pressed against the adhesive coated tracer markers. The xe2x80x9cpatchxe2x80x9d piece is then pulled away with the markers adhered to it in the exact desired hole pattern. The tracer markers are then each struck a blow thereby producing center punch indentations for locating and drilling a hole pattern in the xe2x80x9cpatchxe2x80x9d piece precisely matching the hole pattern of the element to be repaired.